review – Page 6

The Secret of the Hidden Scrolls Books1 & 2 from WorthyKids/Ideals: A TOS Crew Review

September 26, 2017 Grace-Filled Writer

My eager reader Grace was very excited when she found out she would have two new books to read! Grace is eager about just about everything, but this was extra exciting because it was a sequel. She is a big fan of book series because it means she gets to read more adventures with the stories she loves. The first two books in the The Secret of the Hidden Scrolls series from WorthyKids/Ideals completely captivated her!

Two Children, siblings Mary and Peter discover scrolls in a pot in their uncle’s house. The ones with a red wax seal transports them to ancient biblical times. The first book takes the children to Creation week and the second to the time of Noah as he is building the ark. The children have to decipher what the ancient scrolls have written on them because they are in a language they cannot understand. Once they discover the words the seal turns from wax into metal and are then transported back to their own time.

These very short adventure books are excellent choices for kids just beginning to read chapter books. The stories are engaging and adventurous, but with words which aren’t too difficult for young readers. The short length is also great because they will not feel overwhelmed by them. Each chapter is only a few pages long with nice, larger sized lettering. Each entire book is only about 100 pages total and there are still pictures which was a big deal to my girls when they were just starting chapter books.

There are quite a few chapter book series out there for young readers, but only a few emulate the values we desire our children to emulate such as integrity, honesty, and respect. Even fewer deal with the Bible at all and especially in a way which is presented as truth. I consider these to fit into the genre of historical fiction because the biblical side is presented in a factual way.

Since we started our full-schedule of school I assigned each of these books over the course of one week. She was assigned a chapter a day…but often read ahead. This is such a great indication of just how good the books are. My girls always read without complaint, even when they don’t always love the book. I can tell whenever they love the book because they come to me after their assigned reading time and say, “I’m sorry Mommy…I read ahead.” I think it’s so funny that Grace apologized every time because I never mind!

Here is what Grace (7) has to say about the books:

I really like them! I want to know if they are going to make any more because I like that its about them going back in time and how they try to figure out the mystery words. I also like that they get to meet people from the Bible. I also like that it’s hard to figure out the words. I like that in the second book they had to guess the sentences because time was running out. I also like that it’s really adventurous.

Now that you know what Grace thinks, don’t forget to see what my Crewmates have to say!

Imagine. . .The Great Flood by Matt Koceich from Barbour Publishing: A TOS Crew Review

September 18, 2017 Grace-Filled Writer

We love good books! We especially love good books that reflect our biblical worldview. Imagine. . .The Great Flood by Matt Koceich from Barbour Publishing is a book which combines both good writing and a biblical worldview with which we can align ourselves. Beth is in 5th grade and I thought this would be a fun change of pace from her normal reading assignments. While Beth is reading several grade-levels above what would be expected, volunteer reading isn’t something she chooses to do for fun like her sisters. Imagine begins in the present day where the reader meets 10-year-old Corey Max who is in a bit of a dilemma. His family is moving half-way across the country from Texas to Florida, and Corey is none too happy about it. When trying to retrieve his dog, Molly, before a storm hits, he trips and falls hitting his head on something hard. As he tries to reach his dog, he is suddenly transported to another time and definitely another place! As the story progresses Corey meets Noah’s family and sees some of the challenges he faced as he built the ark. One interesting aspect was the inclusion of giants! The Bible clearly speaks about giants in the early days of the earth so the inclusion is logical, but many children’s resources rarely touch on this. Beth was surprised and asked me if there really were giants. It was a great springboard to look it up in Scripture!

This story will capture your imagination from the start. It’s hard to really pinpoint a genre: historical, biblical, science-fiction (travel), early adolescent literature…there are many categories within which it could fit well! I enjoyed that Corey’s parents were set up in a positive light. They put life events into a biblical perspective and encouraged their son to do the same. I often feel as if my husband and I are the only ones who do the same with our own children an when we get many a raised eyebrow among our peers when we speak about the Lord guiding and directing us to do things. Having a delightful fiction book that echoes our same family values is a great thing.
I also love that biblical events are portrayed as history. So much of the world, even professing Christians, seem to view Scripture as merely allegorical rather than as actual history. It is so important for our children to understand and know the Bible is true and factual. This novel presents biblical events as they may have really happened and in a way that will reach today’s kids. My favorite analogy is when Corey first sees one of Noah’s sons and describes him mentally as looking like Obi-Wan Kenobi. That made me smile as I’m sure it did Beth since they are familiar with the Star Wars story.

Beth read this story without complaint, which at the moment is a really big deal! She is incredibly bright, but has been complaining recently when it comes to schoolwork. She never once sighed or grumbled over reading and in fact accidentally read more than I had assigned her daily several times! This tells me just how much she enjoyed the book.When I asked her what she thought about it she said she liked it and that it had someone going back in time and being involved in the story instead of just telling about it like a Bible story. I do highly recommend this title and can’t wait to read the next in the series! Take a look at what my Crewmates had to say!

Week in Review: August 28-September 1st

September 1, 2017 Grace-Filled Writer

I’ve had a lot of people ask me about whether our school is in full-swing yet because all of the traditional schools in our area have now started. Because we school through the summer I do have an “official” start date, but this year I’ve given us what I like to call a soft-start to school. We have continued with our summer studies and have just enjoyed these last few days of summer. So yes, we have continued with a full day of learning, but we are not yet to our full curriculum. Next week will be a little different as well because my girls will spend Monday with their grandparents and Wednesday I have a teacher’s meeting in preparation for the middle school English class I teach. The following week will bring us back to our Heart of Dakota curriculum.

Grace has been enjoying Math Lessons for a Living Education alongside of our Math Mammoth curriculum. This is one of her activities pictured above. She created a store for her sisters to come and shop. She acquired all sorts of items, priced them, sold them, and made change. Mathematics concepts in real life, for a real purpose, and oh so very meaningful. THIS is why we love homeschooling.

Everyday Cooking from Everyday Homemaking: A TOS Crew Review

August 22, 2017 Grace-Filled Writer

(Read to the end for a surprise for YOU from the author!)For a homeschooling and part-time working mom, it can be really intimidating to think about what to cook for an entire week. When you add in picky eaters, dietary concerns, budget boundaries, and time constraints, overwhelmed might be a better description! Everyday Cooking from Everyday Homemaking is the perfect back-to-school title for every mom, whether you are homeschooling or not.

We already eat at home almost every night, but I’m always on the lookout for new recipe ideas or even twists on recipes we already make. I do not have a family of extremely picky eaters except when it comes to meats. My girls are not your typical chicken nugget and hot dog kind of kids! They much prefer meats in a less prepared fashion like tacos, chicken pot pie, etc. Up until recently they have not had a lot of interest in trying new foods, but as they have become more interested in cooking with me as well as watching come cooking competitions they have become braver! I really like how encouraging the introduction is. The author’s style is very conversational and as I read I felt like I was just sitting at my kitchen table having coffee with an encouraging friend! The cookbook is so very well organized and simple to locate what type of recipe you want quickly. Both the table of contents and index are extremely clear and helpful tools for finding what you need. The first recipe we tried was for taco seasoning. This is not a new meal for us, but I have never tried making my own seasoning before. I’ve always been afraid it wouldn’t turn out right and then my family wouldn’t eat it. I decided to be brave and go ahead and try it!

As with all of these recipes I was pleased to find I had most of the ingredients in my pantry already. As I skimmed through the recipes I was pleased to see there weren’t any “weird” ingredients, as my husband would say! Every recipe contained things I already bought on a regular basis or had in my pantry. This is a huge bonus for us since we work within a budget. While we do not tend to skimp on food, we do make choices to buy healthier things and not too much prepared foods.

When Beth and Grace saw I was getting out ingredients they bounced up and down and asked if they could help. I used the pdf cookbook on my iPad so I didn’t have to print anything. I easily could have and this will be the best way for some, but honestly I really like the ability to use the digital format on my iPad. I already have enough random recipes floating around the kitchen!

Let me first of all assure you, none of these photos are posed. Grace was really that excited about making this! She’s usually the one who likes to cook with me the most, so I was excited that Beth was equally as interested.

I had the girls read the recipe and find each ingredient and read to me the measurement amount. I made sure to hand the right measurement to them. We had some very good learning moments about the difference between a tablespoon and a teaspoon when they misread a direction! I love cooking with my girls and helping them learn!

The girls made this all on their own and helped me stir it into the meat I had already cooked while they were stirring this together. I did leave out the cayenne pepper because with the exception of my husband we generally do not like spicy food.

Verdict: Delicious!!!!

We all really enjoyed this seasoning mix although we are planning to use a little more the next time I make tacos. I was really excited that everyone loved it so much. We eat tacos almost weekly and although everyone has been pleased with the store-bought seasoning we use I love knowing I can make my own at a MUCH cheaper cost and with no extra, unnecessary ingredients or food colorings.

I really like that layout of the text. It is easy to navigate and has a clean style that makes it easy to follow. It is user friendly enough for kids to use, especially junior high or high school, on their own. I have a recipe scrapbook for each of my girls I’m working on and a copy of this will absolutely be included. I really liked the tips at the end of each section and the space to write extra notes. In addition to a variety of delicious recipes with simple ingredients, there are wonderful instructions for planning, preparing, and serving meals for families large or small.

If you struggle with meal planning this is an all-in-one resource. Not only are the meals simple, fast, and healthy, there is a wonderful chapter on meal planning. One of my favorite sections was, The Tortoise and the Hare. In this section the author compares slow cookers and pressure cookers. I really appreciate this comparison and although I don’t own a pressure cooker yet, I’m tempted to give it a try!
~~~

Are you ready for the surprise now from the author, Vicki Bentley? She has generously provided a coupon code for both Everyday Cooking and The Everyday Family Chore System! These two books are being reviewed by me and my crewmates on the Review Crew!

TOS10books

Use this code for either or BOTH books!

(Expires September 5)

Make sure to add the books to your cart and then put in the coupon code!

Take a look at what my Crewmates have to say!

No-Nonsense Algebra from Math Essentials: A TOS Crew Review

August 8, 2017 Grace-Filled Writer

My girls are getting older and I’m always on the lookout for where we are heading with math in the higher grades. I’ve had my eye on Math Essentials for a while now because of recommendations, incredibly low price, and the availability of video lessons if desired. I was super excited to have the opportunity to review No-Nonsense Algebra from Math Essentials. I decided to have my middle daughter, Beth, give this a try. She is beginning 5th grade, but has always found math to be both enjoyable and fairly easy. To be honest, she’s never been challenged really. My husband and I decided it would be good for her to give this a try and see how she did. I also have been working hard to brush up on my own mathematics skills. It isn’t my strength, but this does not need to mean it is a weakness. I’ll touch on my own experience at the end of the review. I love the title. No-Nonsense is absolutely the best description for this course! There are no frills or excessive practice pages. Honestly, there isn’t a need with the direct way the course approaches math is beautiful. I struggled to excel in mathematics once I passed the elementary levels and I can’t help but think a more stream-lined approach may have helped me. The instructional videos are clear and easy to follow. They are also fairly short, so if a student needs to watch a video again it will not feel it is taking an excessive amount of time.

As I said before Beth is entering into 5th grade, but has never found math challenging. She just turned 10 and almost always makes a perfect score on every math assignment I give her. I honestly rarely even have to “teach” a concept to her in the traditional way because she intuitively understands mathematics concepts and reading the instructional information is usually enough. Because of these things which are consistently true to her nature I was pretty certain she would do well with this Algebra course. I was not disappointed! Beth thoroughly enjoyed doing her math on the computer. I was a little surprised because while she enjoys the screen time we give her, she’s never been one to ask for computer-based learning. She told me she liked the lesson because it was easy to understand. Because Beth finds math easy, it is never a subject she complains over completing. What was really neat to see was that she was even more eager to complete math lessons than usual and this is really high praise indeed!

Our standard course for mathematics is to use graphing paper for written assignments. This math course is non-consumable (My favorite kind!!!!) so students will need to copy the problems onto their own paper. This was excellent for Beth. Our regular curriculum does not function this way and I found this to be a skill in which she was lacking! For the first time in a very long time Beth missed several answers. Now this may not be cause for celebration for most people, but it was for me. Finally my smart little girl was being challenged! What I discovered was all but one of the mistakes was due to a transcription error. This was only in the first lesson, but she was learning about the concept of negative numbers which was completely new to her. She comprehended the lesson completely, but the transcription errors were her downfall. This was an incredible learning experience for her I had not anticipated.

Since Beth is young compared to most students beginning an algebra course, I had her take more than one day for each lesson. This was an excellent pace for her. The first day she watched the video and completed half of the written work. I would check the work. If there were multiple errors the second day she would watch the lesson again if needed and correct her errors. If there were no errors we moved forward and finish the rest of the written work. This gave her between 8 and 10 problems a day which worked very well.

Beth has thoroughly enjoyed this program. I too have enjoyed working through it, although at a slightly faster pace. The concepts were more familiar for me. I did not feel the need to watch the videos as the instruction in the book were adequate for review. Because this is review I felt very comfortable working on one lesson a day and did so rather quickly. If I were not already stretching my time as far as possible I would have been able to complete two lessons in a day. For anyone needing to brush up on higher mathematics prior to testing for college entry this would be a good course with which to begin.

I highly, highly recommend this math course. In fact, it has been such a great fit for our style of learning that I fully intend to explore the other courses available from Math Essentials.

Check out what my fellow Crewmates have to say!

Hey, Andrew! Teach Me Some Greek! – Level 3 Set fromGreek ‘n’ Stuff: A TOS Crew Review

August 7, 2017 Grace-Filled Writer

When your grandfather is a professor who teaches Greek in seminary, it may mean you have a keen interest to know more about biblical languages at a young age. My dad has been teaching Greek for years so it did not surprise me when Rose came home having learned how to spell her name in Greek letters when she was in 2nd grade. She began writing her name this way on everything she created and for her science class as well! While she has had a keen interest in learning Greek, we have not had an opportunity to pursue it yet. She was very excited when our package with Hey, Andrew! Teach Me Some Greek! – Level 3 from Greek ‘n’ Stuff arrived! I have heard wonderful things about this curriculum and when I mentioned it to my dad he was already familiar with it. I was surprised to learn that my daughter would start in level 3, but this is because the first two levels in the series are for elementary aged students. Since Rose is in 7th grade now, this was the best fit for her.

I love that the first lessons focus on Greek alphabet recognition, writing the letters, and memorizing their pronunciation. The pronunciation CD is quite helpful for beginning students and parents who do not have a base knowledge. While 1 page a day is the intended use, it is strongly encouraged to not move faster than mastery will allow. This was very important for Rose because this was her first formal instruction in biblical Greek. As she filled the practice lines with the Greek letter she was studying, Rose would also pronounce the letter to aid in memorization. This worked well for her and she found learning the alphabet less tedious. For students who have already completed the first two levels or have previously learned the Greek alphabet the beginning lessons would act as review.

Rose completed 1-2 pages a day when she used studied. I really liked that the memorization of the alphabet included visual, tactile, and auditory components. I use this type of method for note memorization while teaching music and I think it is highly valuable. She did feel a little awkward speaking out loud while writing I think, but quickly noted the benefits of learning the letters this way.
I also very much appreciated the handwriting lines given for writing. This provided clear guidelines for how to correctly write the letter. Three lines of writing space were adequate for this activity.

Each lesson is expected to last about a week, but the first two lessons took her a little longer than I expected. Because she was learning the letters for the first time and it was important to master them fairly well, we took our time. I was excited to see her move into the next lessons where she began mastering specific Greek words. Some of the things I love about these lessons is that there is explanation in the student book for pronunciation and a place to draw a picture. My girl loves art and this is a wonderful component for her and her learning style.

The teacher’s guide is an incredibly helpful tool. My dad is an expert in Greek, but I am not! I have never taken any classes or studied Greek in any way. Still, I feel completely confident in guiding Rose through this course because of the teaching guide. In addition to teaching tips and explanations, it is a full answer key with even the handwriting portions completed! I personally am intrigued for myself and am considering getting my own guide to learn biblical Greek.

The last portion which I absolutely love is the inclusion of flash cards and copywork from the Greek New Testament. These are two components which will help ensure mastery of the language. The flash cards are available in the back of the workbook, but may also be purchased separately for convenience. For the copywork you will need your own Greek interlinear Bible, but this is easily obtained whether in a digital format or hard-copy. We are very pleased with this course and Rose is eager to continue as we will soon begin our traditional school-year. I’m excited for her to learn biblical Greek as a foreign language for her own benefit as she continues to study God’s Word on her own.
Take a look at what my Crewmates have to say!

English Grammar Teaching Method from English on a Roll: A TOS Crew Review!

July 31, 2017 Grace-Filled Writer

Before I became Mommy, I was an English teacher to middle school students who were sadly lacking in basic grammatical understanding. I tried to teach what I could, but I was fresh out of college and struggled to know how to bring them up to an acceptable middle school level. Grammar is viewed as very tedious to learn and teach, but it doesn’t have to be! My daughters are growing up learning the parts of speech, how to diagram sentences, and how to speak and write in an intelligent way and it has been rather painless. Giving them a good foundation for sentence building has been my goal and I look for fun ways to do so. I was highly intrigued by the English Grammar Teaching Method
from English on a Roll.

When I opened our box my girls were intrigued as well and wanted to know when we were going to play the new grammar game! It does look like a game for certain with the many worded cubes and fun lesson book. Everything you need comes neatly packaged with incredibly clear instructions in the first few pages. The great part about this is that even though it looks like a game, it is really all about hands-on-learning through manipulatives, a technique proven highly useful for mathematics and now ingeniously applied to grammar instruction!

These little cubes will work in just about any learning situation you can imagine. They are intended for students who are at the mental maturity to be understand how to structure a sentence, about 5 years old. Some examples given by the company are teaching homeless children to sight read and spell, giving students on a higher level of academics a base for writing complex sentences, using them in English as a second language classes, special needs classes, or adult literacy classes. Our homeschool is just traditional, no special needs or non-native speakers, so I was really excited to see how this would work for us.

The teacher guide includes reproducible pages to give as handouts for each student. This was the first really cool part about English on a Roll. While my girls all learn grammar, they have just begun 2nd, 5th, and 7th grades. This does not typically lend itself to group grammar lessons! It was great to have something we could do all together.

The beginning lessons were fairly easy for them because they do already have a grammar base. What I noted is that this would feel easy even for students who do not have a solid grammar background, which is exactly why it is so great! Grace has the least experience with structured grammar and really enjoyed the fill in the blank lessons. Beth enjoys anything hands on and is a thinker, so greatly enjoyed the dice. Rose, who has a very strong understanding of sentence structure and word usage, did a great job helping her sisters understand with the cubes. It was really neat to see her take over as teacher without even realizing it because the word cubes lend itself to very easy instruction. This was great to see because I know it means they would be easy for everyone to use, not just English teachers like me!

Set-up and prep were just a matter of copying a few student pages and setting the cubes out for use. Each lesson shows you at the very top exactly which cubes you need and a handy cube guide along with color coded word dice make this super easy and efficient. I was able to read through a lesson once and feel ready to move forward with the teaching. I do also really like that there are a variety of options for games, conversations, and activities to teach the same concepts. This may be the most open-and-go grammar curriculum I’ve had a chance to use.

This is hands down my new favorite addition to our homeschool. I love that I can teach the girls all together and that they had a great time using it!

Take a look at what my Crewmates have to say!

Love Letters from God – Bible Stories for a Girl’s Heart: A BookLook Blogger Review

July 31, 2017 Grace-Filled Writer

Our family tries to have family devotions as many nights as possible during the week. Usually we skip Sunday and Wednesday nights because we are already at church, but we do our best to include this as a family tradition the rest of the time. Since Rose (who is almost 12) was just an infant we started doing this by reading children’s devotional books. We have read many, many books and were excited to have the chance to go through Love Letters from God: Bible Stories for a Girl’s Heart.

All of the girls have really enjoyed it, but Beth (10) and Grace (7) have enjoyed it the most. It is written to elementary aged girls and gives them the perspective of what God would want them to know from many of the wonderful historical accounts of women presented in the Scriptures. The retelling of the stories is accurate. Although some details may be skipped over, it is not inaccurate. I appreciate that the reference to the original account in Scripture is given.

After each story there is a sweet letter as if written by God to the little girl reading. Grace in particular likes this part. She always wants to be the one to read it aloud. It is sweet and reflects exactly the promises we hold dear in God’s Word.

The only small issue I had with this was the extra verse given. I love it when more Scripture is included, but sometimes the verses were reworded so much from the original verse the meaning felt different from what was intended originally. I do understand younger children may have a hard time understanding everything in the Bible, but I think we ought to give children the opportunity to grow and learn. They often surprise us in what they can comprehend and eve if they do not, there is nothing wrong with still taking the time to teach and explain. Eventually they will!

Overall I thought this was a very sweet book. I would recommend it to families with elementary aged daughters. We have been reading the extra verse straight from the Bible instead of reading the abridged version from the book. This has worked nicely and takes care of the only issue I have. I hope you will take some time to check it out for a little girl you know!

Disclaimer: I was given a copy of this book as a part of BookLook bloggers. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions are my own.

Make-a-State Activity (part of the Activity-Paks series) from Homeschool in the Woods: A TOS Crew Review

July 10, 2017 Grace-Filled Writer

Summertime is always a great time for us to learn together. During our traditional year the girls each have their own, unique course of study, but summer provides ample opportunities for unit studies and group work. This summer we’ve had a chance to spend lots of time with family and the girls have especially enjoyed extra time with their cousins! My sister-in-law and her husband had a chance to getaway while we had a blast with their 5 kids. They are a fun group and when I told them we were going to spend a little time learning about Florida before we traveled together to see their grandparents they were game. I was excited to introduce both my girls and these five kiddos to the Make-a-State Activity, a part of the Activity-Paks series from Home School in the Woods.

When they realized this was “school” my girls were excited, but their cousins weren’t quite sure what to think. My nieces and nephews attend an amazing Private Christian School in their hometown and while they know a lot about homeschooling, they haven’t had the chance to try it themselves. While they were a little uncertain, I had every confidence they would love this project because we have loved every single experience we have had with Home School in the Woods!

Hands-On History Activity-Paks: Make-A-State

As I mentioned above, we chose to work with Florida. The downloadable files are so beautifully crafted, but incredibly simple to print and use. The directions for Make-a-State Activity are clearly written so that anyone should be able to follow them. I would even be comfortable having a high school student use this curriculum to teach their younger siblings. Because we had been camping just before all of the kids came, I hadn’t had a chance to print ahead of time like I normally do. This was actually really a good thing for me because I saw first-hand just how print-and-go these projects really are! I typically prepare days in advance for things because that is how I feel comfortable. What I learned with this curriculum is I don’t have to do that if I don’t have time!

I had the oldest two girl with the younger 4, 2 for each of them. The middle two girls worked together. I got them all set and and handed each pair the information page for the state of Florida. The youngest kids were 5 and 7 and may have had some trouble reading this on their own, but with the help of an older cousin/sibling there wasn’t any trouble at all. Parents can easily step in and help younger kids or those who struggle with reading for this portion without taking away from the learning experience in any way. I then assigned each of the three groups different portions to read and discover. After finding out information like the state capital, population, destinations to visit, and agriculture they used the printable pages included to record, draw, and color all about what they learned.

After everyone was done the kids took turns sharing with each other what they learned and then attached them to our large poster board. This is intended to be a file folder project, which I would absolutely do if each of the kids were making their own. Because we were creating a group project I chose a slightly different way to feature their learning and it worked beautifully! Adapting this project in this very small way did not take away from their experience at all.

So now I know you are wondering how they all felt about it! My girls enjoyed it as always. They even asked if were going to get to do more states after our vacation to Florida. I assured them we were as well as spend some more time playing the Name That State game! I wasn’t surprised by their enthusiasm or that they enjoyed working on this even while they consider themselves “on vacation”.

So what about my nieces and nephews? Their response was to tell me they were going to ask their mom if they could be homeschooled! There isn’t much of a better recommendation than that! Some of their specific comments were, “I didn’t know learning could be fun like this!” and, “Do you guys get to do stuff like this all the time???”

The kids’ final project!

They also were so funny after we were done. One of the younger kids asked how long we were working. It was about 90 minutes or so for us to research, color, write, and share. He could not believe they had been working that steadily for that long! His response to that was, “Really??? I thought it was only 10 minutes!” To me, this is the indicator of engaging learning. When a child becomes so absorbed in what they are studying they lose track of time, we have a winner.

You may already be familiar with Home School in the Woods, but make sure you take some time to see some of the new learning opportunities they have available! In addition to the incredible Activity-Paks there are also amazing titles in the the Lap-Paks series and a wonderful and unique way to look at history with the Timeline Trio. This is also a great opportunity to let kids choose their own areas of study.

One new feature found at Home School in the Woods is the opportunity to purchase several of the individual activities found in the Paks alacarte! I absolutely love this because this will give me the opportunity to supplement our regular curriculum with projects as we need them. I’m so excited to explore this option further!

Don’t forget to check out what my Crewmates have to say!

Lightening Lit Grade 7 from Hewitt Homeschooling: A TOS Crew Review

June 27, 2017 Grace-Filled Writer

One of my greatest joys of learning is sharing my love of great literature with my daughters. Like most homeschooling moms, I have a large collection of wonderful literature available to my girls and we read all the time for school and pleasure. I was incredibly excited to have Rose review the Gr 7 Lightning Lit Set from Hewitt Homeschooling. Rose was incredibly excited to get her hands on this as well! My experience with middle school English curriculum is rather extensive. Before the girls came along I taught English to 7th and 8th graders at a private school. I’m now privileged to teach 7th and 8th grade homeschoolers at a local homeschool learning center. We have spent the elementary years of Rose’s schooling reading as much quality and classic literature as possible and discussing it throughout the reading. My teaching experience had lent itself to what some may consider a more informal approach. I was excited to see what Hewitt Homeschooing had to offer for middle school! My first impression was great excitement about the literature titles chosen. With so many traditional schools choosing trendy and often inappropriate reading material for their students I am overjoyed when a company with such a high reputation chooses quality titles to study. I was especially excited about the book Stories and Poems for Extremely Intelligent Children of All Ages. The short stories and poems included in this book were many of the same I read when in grade school but are much harder to find in current literature books. They are true classics just as much as the novels are.

The workbooks which are included are incredible. As a teacher I have had the opportunity to create my own curriculum in both of my teaching settings. This follows much the same style as I use and is incredibly high quality. I love the consumable workbook format. They are clear to understand and they reflect many levels in Bloom’s Taxonomy, a guide teachers use to create activities and assessments which reflect various levels of understanding. Hewitt Homeschooling does an excellent job of hitting every level. I also love that there are fun pages worked in as well like crosswords puzzles and word searches. This company proves that learning can be so much fun!
Rose has very much enjoyed our study through literature once we started with this set. She loves that I can give her an assignment she can complete on her own. The teacher’s guide and answer key makes grading and evaluation incredibly easy. Literary elements are thoroughly covered and detailed. The English teacher side of me is incredibly impressed with just how well this is done. The mom side of me loves that my daughter is engaged and enjoying it!

Just like me, Rose adores Stories and Poems for Extremely Intelligent Children of All Ages. In fact, I couldn’t find it one day when I was gathering supplies for school and found her in her bed reading it! I knew she had been enjoying what had already been assigned, but I was honestly surprised to find she enjoyed it so much she was reading it on her own time, at her own initiative. The other way I know she loves this set is it is the first thing she wants to work on each school day. Based on her answers in the workbook I can tell she is not only enjoying the study, but she is understanding and retaining what she is learning. Check out what my Crewmates had to say about the other levels from Hewitt Homeschooling!